Red roses....

Not sure what is better then red flowers and then add a watercolor look to that.

 I just received a new set of stamps from Altenew so of course I had to play a bit.  The solid flower shapes are very forgiving when you are after a loose watercolor look.  The stamps come with the possibility of stamping layers of the flowers but I did see that the layers pretty much mingled when I added the water.  The gorgeous word dies that says Happy Birthday is from Penny Black.  The set has a few sentiments in it.  This fits the TEXT challenge at Inkspirational because I used a simple text stamp from Stampers Anonymous to just fill in some of the white space.  I wasn't using it so that you could read the words, I just wanted the typewriter look. 

 Here's a close up of my resulting flowers and leaves.  I used another set of stamps that has an outline stamp in it so that I could further define my flowers.  I use some black Liquid Pearls to give a little highlight and dimension.  

Here's the Inkspirational Challenge.
Thanks for visiting, Linda (lbpost)

One Red Heart

If I had my way I would create using hearts all year long.

 But, of course, Valentines Day is the time when hearts are everywhere plus the card I want to share fits a few online challenges.  I started out with this great heart background die from Simon Says Stamp.  I cut it from watercolor paper and then colored it with yellow/gold with some Distress Stain and Heidi Swapp Color Shine.  With this die you can leave all of the cut out hearts, you can remove some of them or all of them.  I opted to take out some and leave some. 

 I know my color combo is rather unexpected for Valentines Day but I loved that it ended up a little bit out of the ordinary  I created a background with Distress Stains.  When these are added to watercolor paper and spritzed with water, the look is always a little bit of a surprise.  I cut the die from Silver Glitter cardstock so that I could add a few hearts into my background die and then I added one red heart with foam tape.  The sentiment is from Paper Smooches.  

 This fits the Just Us Girls "heart" challenge.

 It fits the Inkspiration Photo challenge because of the subtle colors and the heart.

And it fits the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday challenge of "hearts".
Thanks for visiting, Linda (lbpost)

Snowflake time

Well, we won't really get any snowflakes where I live but I sure love using snowflakes for winter anyway.

I first of all I used a snowflake plate from Lil' Inker and embossed the entire piece using watercolor paper.  Next I took one of my Zig Clear Color pens and added some color.  I then used a watercolor brush to "paint" each embossed snowflake.  I loved the resulting soft look.  The sentiment from Simon Says Stamp was stamped on vellum.  I like that I could add the sentiment is a subtle way.  

 I also cut out snowflakes from this set of Lil' Inker dies, I love the stitching marks that are in the dies.  I sprayed the cut out snowflakes with Brushed Pewter Distress Spray.  I placed the die cut snowflakes over some of the embossed snowflakes.  

 The card fits the Inkspirational FLAKE challenge.

 The colors fit the Sunday Stamps challenge.

Plus it fits the Simon Says Wednesday Die Cut challenge.
Thanks for visiting, Linda (lbpost)

Love these flowers

When it comes to flower stamps, Altenew are some of my most favorite.

 These flowers and leaves are from a new set that I received from them.  I wanted to play with the color combination at Sunday Stamps so this was the perfect start.  I stamped the flower with white ink and embossed them with white embossing powder on watercolor paper.  The embossed lines of the images will now act as a resist to the inks I want to use. The sentiment is from Simon Says Stamp. 

 I picked a variety of blues, grays and black Distress Stain.  I also used a Pewter which is actually a metallic silver.  When these were spritzed with water, they ran together just right to color the flowers and to add some color to the background.  In a way it is like painting, adding the colors here and there just where I wanted them. 

Here is the Sunday Stamps challenge. 

Plus it fits the Inkspirational Recipe challenge to use three items.  I used the Distressing, Flowers and Pearls since I used Liquid Pearls as accents. 

Thanks for visiting, Linda (lbpost)

Rain is a comin'- Newest AAA Card challenge

 We are expecting rain where I live so the newest AAA Card challenge is so appropriate. 

 I knew exactly what I wanted to use for this challenge, this super cute stamp set from Pink Paislee and it has a matching umbrella die.  In order to keep it on the simple side, I stamped the sentiment and the clouds on my watercolor paper with white ink and embossed them with white embossing powder.  The embossed images then acted as a resist when I added the various Distress Stain inks.  

I just love the way these Distress Stains react with water for a resulting watercolor look.  You can see in this close up how the embossed images resist the inks.  For the umbrella, I stamped it the same way on another piece of watercolor paper and then added ink to it then cut it out with the matching die.  I added it with foam tape. I love that this dimension adds a little bit of interest.  

Be sure to check out what the other team members created and take the time to play along with us at AAA Cards for the Rain challenge.

This also fits the Inkspiratonal Sprinkle challenge.

And the Paper Players Spring challenge.

Plus it fits Virginia's View challenge for All Things Embossed.

Thanks for visiting, Linda (lbpost)

Merry and Joy

I have been making so many Christmas or Winter cards and I have been having so much fun with different techniques and stamps and dies and inks!!!

 I picked up a set of stamps with a matching die at Michaels from Hampton Arts.  I love snowflakes so I really can't have too many snowflake stamps and dies! I stamped a few of the images over my funky inked background. 

 I love playing with the Distress Stains and watercolor paper so I just mixed a few Christmas colors to create a background.  The biggest snowflake was cut out with the matching die so it could be added separate.  

 This goes with the retro sketch for this week.

 This card ended up being a bit more elegant.  Everyone seems to be creating with gold this year so I pulled out a piece of shiny gold paper I had and cut this out with a My Favorite Things die. The joy is a die from Wplus9 Designs.

 I then added a few pretty snowflakes using dies.  The biggest one is from Hero Arts, the smaller ones are from Wplus9 Designs. 

This goes along with the Inkspirational challenge to use GOLD.

It also fits the CAS-ology SNOW challenge.

These also go along with the Simon Says Wednesday Challenge for Winter Inspiration.

Thanks for visiting, Linda (lbpost)

Shiny Gold and Vintage Santas

I am having so much fun creating cards for Christmas.

 For this card I pulled out an older stamp I have had for awhile. It is by Paula Best, I always enjoyed her style.  The sentiment is a die from Simon Says Stamp.

 I went a little unusual for my coloring.  I added color with Copic Markers and then added shine with some Distress Spray in Pewter.  That dot background was created with a dot stencil and some gold Embossing paste. I love how this embossing paste looks.  I took this photo at an angle to try to show off the shine of the gold dots. 

 I used the Inkspirational challenge to use Gold.

And the Addicted to CAS challenge to use DOTS.

And the Wednesday Simon Says challenge.
Thanks for visiting, Linda (lbpost)

Less is More!

Why do I have so much trouble with "simple"!? You know, leaving some white space.  I usually want to keep going but for my card, I added a few elements and then walked away.

 I wanted to play along with the Inkspirational CAS challenge and to also use the retro sketch.  Is that die cut word amazing! I just got it from Penny Black. I added color with some Distress Stain, such a fast and easy way to make it match.

 Do you love these flower stamps from Alternew!? I sat down to play with this super cool stamp set and created I don't know how many different combinations with the different layers. (Altenew has a sheet available on their web site for guidelines on used the layers) The only draw back is I did have to cut them out but that only takes a second. I also used the Lil' Inkers stitched layers die. 

 Here is the Inkspirational challenge.

Here is the retro sketch challenge.
Thanks for visiting, Linda (lbpost)

First AAA DT card

Let the fun begin! I was asked recently if I wanted to be a part of the AAA Cards team and since I am over the moon in love with challenges, I knew right away I wanted to play along with the team.  This week is my first card, being part of the team.

 It was so much fun to approach this challenge because of the little bit different angle.  Looking at the inspiration photo, I see a kitty cat, a book or newspaper and some yarn or string.  

 I knew I didn't have anything kitty cat related so that really was my first challenge!!! I did the next best thing and turned to A Day for Daisies shop for a digital image.  I love using digital images because I can print them out as many times as I want and in the sizes that I need.  I colored it with Copic markers.  This adorable image has the cutest little kitties and some yarn or string. The cloud die cuts are from Paper Smooches.  

 I stamped the newspaper image piece, making it into an banner.  A colorful piece of paper tape added some great interest.  Do you love that background!? I created it with a Tim Holtz stencil and some Ranger Distress Stains, Mustard Seed and Squeezed Lemonade.  The stencil and the Distress Stains are available at Blue Moon Scrapbooking. Be sure to check out this online store with it's great prices and selection. 

 I also wanted to create a card for the Addicted to CAS Texture challenge.  

 I used only a portion of a stencil and the Ranger Emboss It Dauber - embossing liquid in a dauber bottle.  I then embossed that with white embossing powder.  To add the color, I smashed down a pink Distress Stain onto the paper over the embossed design.  I love the little splatter that comes with the smashed ink.  The sentiment is from Mama Elephant.

Can you see the texture and the coloring?  That pretty flower and the leaves are stamps and matching dies from Wplus9 Designs. The center is Distress Glitter in pink. 

This also fits a new-to-me challenge blog, Inkspirational Word Prompt.  

Thanks for visiting, Linda (lbpost)